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| Primary day is last hurrah for Newt Gingrich - US politics live | Primary day is last hurrah for Newt Gingrich - US politics live |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 12.12pm: Voting fever grips Pennsylvania – that's the headline you won't be reading anywhere, because the reverse seems to be the case, in part because of the unusually cold weather that hit the region around Pittsburgh with a few inches of snow. | |
| But in the Republican primary to determine the GOP candidate to run against incumbent Democratic US senator Bob Casey, there's much more action, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports: | |
| This month, Steve Welch, the Senate candidate backed by the party establishment, unleashed a torrent of ads on TV calling his chief rival, Armstrong County coal executive Tom Smith, "the worst Republican impersonator ever." | |
| Another spot appearing on the Web - and employing a clip from the Adam Sandler film Billy Madison - described Smith's rhetorical style as rambling, incoherent, and "insanely idiotic." | |
| For his part, Smith has countered with ads branding Welch a supporter of President Obama. | |
| 11.45am: A lot of the kids today are into these comic strips, such as this one from xkcd. | 11.45am: A lot of the kids today are into these comic strips, such as this one from xkcd. |
| 11.30am: While Newt Gingrich mulls his future of well-deserved obscurity, where will Mitt Romney be tonight? In New Hampshire. Which seems somewhat away from the limelight – but the Boston Globe explains why: | 11.30am: While Newt Gingrich mulls his future of well-deserved obscurity, where will Mitt Romney be tonight? In New Hampshire. Which seems somewhat away from the limelight – but the Boston Globe explains why: |
| For Romney, the significance of New Hampshire is personal as well as political. The state is home to his summer residence and was the launch pad of his candidacy last summer. He was a regular visitor before the hotly contested primary in January. And Tuesday night, instead of celebrating in one of the five states holding a primary that day, Romney is returning to the Granite State for a speech and a victory party that his campaign considers his official pivot to the general election. | For Romney, the significance of New Hampshire is personal as well as political. The state is home to his summer residence and was the launch pad of his candidacy last summer. He was a regular visitor before the hotly contested primary in January. And Tuesday night, instead of celebrating in one of the five states holding a primary that day, Romney is returning to the Granite State for a speech and a victory party that his campaign considers his official pivot to the general election. |
| 11.10am: With nothing much on the line in today's Republican primaries, Newt Gingrich gives the Republican voters of Delaware the incentive they need to get out and vote – for someone else: | 11.10am: With nothing much on the line in today's Republican primaries, Newt Gingrich gives the Republican voters of Delaware the incentive they need to get out and vote – for someone else: |
| Newt Gingrich hinted he may withdraw from the presidential race if he has a poor showing in the Delaware primary Tuesday – a state where he has been actively campaigning for several weeks. | Newt Gingrich hinted he may withdraw from the presidential race if he has a poor showing in the Delaware primary Tuesday – a state where he has been actively campaigning for several weeks. |
| "I think we need to take a deep look at what we are doing," Gingrich told NBC News in an exclusive interview on Monday. "We will be in North Carolina tomorrow night and we will look and see what the results are. | "I think we need to take a deep look at what we are doing," Gingrich told NBC News in an exclusive interview on Monday. "We will be in North Carolina tomorrow night and we will look and see what the results are. |
| You have to love that "we" in "we need to take a deep look at what we are doing" there – as if there's a mighty team of political operatives behind Gingrich, when we know it's just Newt, Callista and the guy in the elephant costume, RC Hammond, who hasn't even been paid in a month. | You have to love that "we" in "we need to take a deep look at what we are doing" there – as if there's a mighty team of political operatives behind Gingrich, when we know it's just Newt, Callista and the guy in the elephant costume, RC Hammond, who hasn't even been paid in a month. |
| 11am: The Republican presidential race may be all over but there's still time for Mitt Romney to enjoy a victory lap as voters go to the polls in New York and Pennsylvania – with Newt Gingrich hoping for one last hurrah in tiny Delaware. | 11am: The Republican presidential race may be all over but there's still time for Mitt Romney to enjoy a victory lap as voters go to the polls in New York and Pennsylvania – with Newt Gingrich hoping for one last hurrah in tiny Delaware. |
| Rumours abound that Gingrich will finally smell the coffee and end his increasingly irrelevant presidential campaign, perhaps as early as this evening, and possibly go out on a high note with a victory in the Old Line state. | Rumours abound that Gingrich will finally smell the coffee and end his increasingly irrelevant presidential campaign, perhaps as early as this evening, and possibly go out on a high note with a victory in the Old Line state. |
| Elsewhere, there appears to be little to play for the primaries other than academic interest, with Barack Obama sure to wrap up the pro forma Democratic nomination after tonight's results. | Elsewhere, there appears to be little to play for the primaries other than academic interest, with Barack Obama sure to wrap up the pro forma Democratic nomination after tonight's results. |
| Here's a summary of latest events from Ryan Devereaux: | Here's a summary of latest events from Ryan Devereaux: |
| • With voters heading to the polls in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, today could be the day Mitt Romney effectively seals the Republican nomination. If Romney manages to sweep all five states, as many expect he will, the nominating process is all but guaranteed to come to an end. Romney won't be in any of the states voting today though. Instead he will appear in New Hampshire, where his march to the nomination began. | • With voters heading to the polls in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, today could be the day Mitt Romney effectively seals the Republican nomination. If Romney manages to sweep all five states, as many expect he will, the nominating process is all but guaranteed to come to an end. Romney won't be in any of the states voting today though. Instead he will appear in New Hampshire, where his march to the nomination began. |
| • Florida senator Marco Rubio joined Mitt Romney on the campaign trail on Monday. Appearing with the presidential hopeful in Pennsylvania, Rubio became the latest Republican to assume the role of Romney's potential running mate. When asked if he believed a first term senator such as himself could handle the responsibility of being "a heartbeat away" from the presidency, Rubio replied: "I'm not talking about that process anymore." | • Florida senator Marco Rubio joined Mitt Romney on the campaign trail on Monday. Appearing with the presidential hopeful in Pennsylvania, Rubio became the latest Republican to assume the role of Romney's potential running mate. When asked if he believed a first term senator such as himself could handle the responsibility of being "a heartbeat away" from the presidency, Rubio replied: "I'm not talking about that process anymore." |
| • President Obama has set his sights on the youth vote by targeting student loan costs. Barring congressional intervention, the interest rate for a federal loan popular among poorer and middle class students will double from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1. According to the Federal Reserve, approximately 5% of Americans have outstanding student loans, estimated to be worth $870b and $1t. Mitt Romney has agreed with the president by embracing a temporary extension of lower rates for student loans, a policy opposed by House Republicans. | • President Obama has set his sights on the youth vote by targeting student loan costs. Barring congressional intervention, the interest rate for a federal loan popular among poorer and middle class students will double from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1. According to the Federal Reserve, approximately 5% of Americans have outstanding student loans, estimated to be worth $870b and $1t. Mitt Romney has agreed with the president by embracing a temporary extension of lower rates for student loans, a policy opposed by House Republicans. |